


The Wish Tree

by madbrilliant84



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, New Year's Eve, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-26
Updated: 2016-12-26
Packaged: 2018-09-12 09:45:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9066424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madbrilliant84/pseuds/madbrilliant84
Summary: Sometimes wishes do come true, especially on New Year's Eve.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Since I didn't have time to write the Christmas fic I had planned I wrote this little fluff piece instead. I've just finished it on my five hour train journey back from my family's so please overlook any horrible typos I've probably made :)
> 
> Anyway, I hope everyone had a lovely festive season and may your New Year's Eve be almost as sappy as Eames' and Arthurs' :D
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, I'm just having some fun with them.

  


For the first time in forever Arthur had actually made plans for New Year’s Eve. He wasn’t usually that keen on it but he knew that Eames loved ringing in the New Year. It was the first time they were spending it together as a couple (getting together a few months ago after “the longest foreplay in the history of mankind” according to Cobb) so Arthur didn’t want to be a spoilsport. Instead he thought they’d spend it at his Paris flat that had a spectacular view of the Eiffel Tower. He would have made a spectacular dinner; they could have watched the fireworks from the iron wrought balcony and drunk indecent amounts of very expensive champagne. So far the only thing that had worked out was the expensive champagne. They were stuck on a job in Tokyo that, due to a rather incompetent extractor, was running more than a little long and had already messed up their Christmas and Hanukkah celebrations (or “Chrismukkah” as Eames insisted on calling it). Thankfully Saito, knowing that the two of them were in town, had invited them to a lush New Year’s Eve party at his incredible penthouse overlooking the city. But it wasn’t the intimate celebration that Arthur had been looking forward to. There were so many people here and he was beginning to get worn out from all the small talk, not really being the most sociable person anyway. Eames was of course thriving, charming Saito’s posh friends with true and made up anecdotes but always keeping an eye on Arthur, making sure that he was doing fine.

And as always Eames had perfect timing when he made his way over, saving Arthur from a particularly tedious discussion about the merits of an autumn wedding (Heavily made-up socialites always seemed to take a shine to him. His immaculate outfits probably give the impression he’d make a great gay shopping advisor).

“Excuse me, ladies,” Eames drawled in his poshest accent “but I have to steal this lovely man from you since I can’t bear another second without a dance with him”. The Brit finished his little show with a smile and a wink that had the women giggling and earned him the mother of all eye rolls from Arthur. Although the point man was surely glad about an escape from the manicured claws of Tokyo. He could never be really annoyed with Eames for his antics anyway, especially when his boyfriend look good enough to eat tonight (Another reason Arthur was pissed that there wouldn’t be any sex to accompany the champagne at midnight, although he was pretty sure Eames would find a way to make it happen). The forger had foregone his usually eclectic attire for a bespoke dark navy three-piece suit that stretched really lovely across his wide shoulders. He was also wearing a white shirt with a gold diamond pattern, a burgundy tie and a pocket chain because it was Eames he was talking about after all. Arthur loved him in his mostly shambolic outfits but he also loved it when Eames made an effort. Not just because it made him look like a million bucks but also because Arthur knew that it was all just for him.

They’d been swaying together on the dance floor for a little while when Eames tipped up Arthur’s chin and gave him a quizzical look.

“Darling, is everything alright? Are you not enjoying yourself?”

Arthur shook his head a little and gave him a rueful smile. “No, it’s fine. It’s a lovely party. It’s just …” he paused with a sigh “It’s just that I wanted it to be just us tonight, you know? I had it all planned and it would have been great and now we’re stuck here for at least another week. We didn’t even get to enjoy the holidays and now we’re spending our first New Year’s Eve with strangers.”

“Oh Arthur” Eames quietly said, stroking a finger across his boyfriends cheek “you know that I don’t mind where we’re spending these days. All that matters is that we’re both here and we can have a fabulous Chrismukkah and a romantic New Year’s next year.”

Arthur frowned at him. “I really wish you’d stop calling it “Chrismukkah”.”

“But darling, it is the perfect term for it!” Eames answered with a chuckle, drawing Arthur a little closer while still swaying gently to the music. “And if you want to make sure that your plans are going to work out next year, then maybe you should leave a New Year’s Eve wish.”

Arthur looked at him puzzled. “A what?”

“They have a little wishing tree over there” Eames answered pointing to a corner on the other side of the room. “People write a note about what they’re hoping for the next year and then hang it on the tree”.

“Hm. I never really got that, you know. Why should things suddenly take a turn for the better just because it’s a new year? If people want to make changes to their lives then they could just start doing something about it at any given point in time. It’s not going to get better just because it’s another year. Next year might turn out to be even worse for all they know.”

Eames gave him a little smile. “This isn’t about anything logical, pet. People know that just wishing for something to get better isn’t going to work. This is simply about hope for something better and sometimes it helps to articulate your wishes before you work on them. And sometimes things DO turn out for the better if you just believe it hard enough.”

“That’s not true.”

“Oh, it sure is. Don’t you think that this year has already been so much better than the last?”

“Of course it has. I’ve got you now, don’t I? But that wasn’t down to wishful thinking but me finally making a move on you.”

“Took you long enough as well” Eames replied with a wink.

Arthur gave a small shrug in return. “I might be a bit slow on the uptake but once I had figured it out, I didn’t drag my feet, did I?”

“You certainly didn’t darling. Swept me off my feet. And I had always thought that it would be the other way round.”

Arthur looked at him a bit more seriously for a minute before he asked: “Do you always make a wish on New Year’s Eve?”

“Of course darling. Every year I make the same wish.”

“And has it come true, yet?”

Eames shook his head. “Not yet, but it will soon.”

Arthur nodded at that. “Wait for me here, I’ll be back in a second.”

“Hurry up love, it’s almost midnight” answered Eames and gave him a little peck on the cheek.

When Arthur had hurried off Eames went to the bar. Couldn’t ring in the New Year without champagne after all. He turned around with two glasses in hand when he saw his boyfriend returning from the wishing tree. He handed him a glass and slung his other hand around the slimmer man’s waist drawing him closer.

“Just in time” Eames said with a smile while around them everyone had started counting down from ten.

And when a moment later the whole room erupted into loud cheering and “Happy New Year’s!” Eames drew Arthur into the most tende kiss, cupping the other man’s cheek with his free hand. It was a gesture that seemed so full of promise that Arthur’s heart felt ready to burst. His throat was a little tight with emotion when Eames drew back and looked at him like he had just found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

It took Arthur a second to realize what Eames meant when he almost whispered to him “Now it came true.”

“Your New Year’s wish?”

Eames nodded and stroked his thumb across Arthur’s lower lip. “Every New Year’s Eve since I’ve met you I wished for a kiss from you at midnight. And this year I finally got it granted.”

For a second Arthur was truly lost for words so he just laced their empty hands together and touched his forehead to Eames’. Although there was quite a commotion going on around them, confetti guns being fired, people hugging and singing “Auld Lang Syne” while a huge fireworks display was going off outside the windows, it felt like they were the only two people in the room.

When Arthur had finally found his voice again he looked at Eames and said: “Would you like to know what I wished for?”

“What did you wish for love?” Eames almost whispered.

“I wished for nothing because there’s nothing I want to change now that we finally got each other.”

Eames’ breath hitched in his throat but he smoothed it over with a grin. “Darling, who knew that you were the hopeless romantic in this relationship?”

That earned him a shove against his shoulder and a chuckled “prick” in return but when he looked at Arthur he was smiling from ear to ear, his lovely dimples making a rare appearance.

Eames raised his glass, never breaking eye contact. “Happy New Year darling!”

“Happy New Year Mr. Eames!”

  


xxx


End file.
